Paradise Valley, Arizona
33,500 Students

Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) used SASIxp for 12 years. Knowing they needed to find a new system, they reviewed several offers before deciding on Infinite Campus. As the largest American-owned student information system (SIS) and the second largest vendor in Arizona, Infinite Campus was chosen for the product stability and the corporate vision for the future.

Challenges
PVUSD wanted an SIS that went beyond simple data management. Compass 2015, the district’s long range vision, focuses on data management as the core of the plan. Working the plan requires more than just a robust SIS; it needs available training for immediate use, responsive technical support, regular product enhancements and a vision for the future. PVUSD wanted a product that could handle the many demands placed on a district their size, as well as accommodate their future needs.

Solution
They found all of this in Infinite Campus. “The big piece that sold us on Infinite Campus was the vision; that it is more than just a data management tool. Other companies may have a suitable SIS if all you need to do is track numbers,” said Kilgore, “but we wanted more. We’ve only been on Infinite Campus for six months and already we’ve gotten some great enhancements. I know Infinite Campus will continue to support our vision for the future.”

When researching vendors, they found a strong benefit of Infinite Campus is its product stability. For example, when teachers all submitted grades at the same time, there were no system malfunctions. “With Infinite Campus we’ve had the entire district hit the system at one time and not one glitch,” said Beverly Kilgore, assistant director of technology at PVUSD. “We sat there looking at each other, saying, ‘Did they do grades?’ Infinite Campus could handle it. It was amazing.”

Infinite Campus is a living solution. Campus customers use the same product today as they did when they first became a customer, relying on incremental product improvements that eliminate costly implementation fees, training and support. Infinite Campus continues to evolve, providing customers at no additional cost with what they need to be successful today and in the future.

Campus Attendance provides the district with efficient attendance management while keeping parents aware of student status in real time. Teachers find taking attendance effortless, leaving more time for students. “Campus Attendance is so intuitive,” says Kilgore. “Everyone does it easily. We seldom get support calls on attendance.”

Campus Grade Book offers PVUSD teachers the flexibility to work from any computer with an Internet connection. Integration with enrollment data means quick access to demographic information. Grades, assessments, comments, and standards are available to counselors, administrators and parents immediately. “Our kids rely on knowing their grades,” says Kilgore. “They want to know where they stand with grades and what they need to do for class. This really helps them to be better students.”

Campus Portal gives parents and students real-time access to grades, homework assignments and scheduled tests, as well as notes and comments as they are entered by teachers, counselors and staff.

Parents are encouraged to become active in student progress. During the first six months with Infinite Campus, PVUSD recorded 1.4 million stakeholders logged in to the Campus Portal. In one week alone, 75,000 logins were identified.

Results
Infinite Campus has provided return on investment (ROI) through ease-of-use and reliability. “We get an immediate ROI because our data is cleaner for state reporting,” says Kilgore. “With reliable data, reports are not rejected and redone. District attendance can be managed by one person. Data entry time is reduced. Scheduling and communication with parents is more efficient. The savings to Paradise Valley in personnel costs and resources is substantial.”

As more and more Arizona districts choose Infinite Campus, the opportunities to share custom procedures increases. Through peer discussion, districts find ways to use the full spectrum of Infinite Campus features. Veteran users can “pay it forward” by describing their successes to districts looking for an SIS that works.

“Before choosing our new SIS, we spoke to Glendale Union High School about their experience as customers,” says Kilgore. “They just raved and raved about Infinite Campus. Already we find the stability of the product is #1 and the customer service is top notch. Infinite Campus is the best system out there.”